Holiday Card ~ Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

Hello and welcome to a new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!

This week's challenge is all about Holiday Cards and we can't wait to see what you are making and sending to loved ones and friends this year!

Now, I will admit even though I do try to make all my own cards, there are times when try as I might, life takes over and I don't always manage to make them but the one thing that I do ensure that I make are those special cards for family and this, is one of those cards. I hope you love it...

To begin with I created my circular card blank from cutting out two 18cm circles from kraft card and attaching them at the back by scoring a small section at the top of the circle and creating a hinge. Once that is done, I inked the edges of the card with Picket Fence Distress Paint and added a small amount of Antiqued Bronze for a distressed, vintage feel.

I then cut a circle of Manila card, 14cm in diameter. I swiped the cardstock through Evergreeen Bough and Picket Fence Distress Stain that I applied to my craft sheet, picking up all the ink before heat drying my background.

When the background was dry, I inked up the deer stamp from the Styled Woodlands stamp set using Potting Soil Archival Ink and stamped the image directly onto my background.

Ink the edges of the card with Evergreen bough Distress Ink and then to create the snow effect, I applied Wendy Vecchi White Embossing Paste through the Simon Says Stamp Falling Snow Stencil and then added small sequins for sparkle.

I mounted my background onto a matt of decorative paper from the Motif paper stash which I lightly inked with Antique Linen Distress Ink, followed by a matt of Core'dinations card and mounted them onto the front of my circular card.

Now, it's time to decorate and for the layered snowflake, I used the Stacked Snowflake die to die cut Grungeboard, painted the die cuts with Picket Fence and Tumbled Glass Distress Paint before adding a layer of Rock Candy Crackle Paint over the top. Once the paint is dry and the crackles have appeared, apply some Tumbled Glass Distress Stain and allow it to seep into the cracks. Layer the snowflakes up using foam pads and attach it to the front of your card and place a Dewdrop, coloured with Aqua Alcohol Ink in the centre of the snowflake.

Die cut some Holiday Greens and some leaves and sprigs from the Festive Greenery Strip die, using Kraft Core Nostalgic cardstock and then spritz with Picket Fence Distress Stain for an frosty feel to the foliage. Add the foliage to your card, together with red pearls to give the appearance of berries.

Finally, add a word band to the bottom of your card, layering it over the top of some cheesecloth and attaching paper string to either end of the metal embellishment.

...and that completes my Christmas card tutorial which I really hope you've enjoyed!

Don't forget that if you're looking for some more great ideas and inspiration for this challenge, then you need to look no further than the blog to see all the wonderful creations from all the very talented Design Team members and every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp. Good luck....

Thank you so much for all your visits today and hope you all have a great week ahead

See you again soon...love Emma xx

Products used:

Tim Holtz Sizzix Dies: Festive Greenery Strip Die, Holiday Greens, Stacked Snowflakes

Stamps: Tim Holtz Styled Woodlands

Ink: Potting Soil Archival Ink, Evergreen Bough Distress Ink

Distress Stains: Evergreen Bough, Picket Fence, Tumbled Glass

Distress Spray Stain: Picket Fence

Distress Paint: Picket Fence, Tumbled Glass

Mediums: Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste, Rock Candy Crackle Paint

Stencil: SSS Falling Snow

Idea-Ology ~ Gumdrop, Word Bands, Paper String Stripes

Embellishments: Simon Says Stamp Sequins, pearls

Surfaces: Ranger Manila Card, Ranger Kraft Card, Kraft Core Nostalgic Cardstock, Motif Paper Stash, Grungeboard, Distress Core'dinations

Ranger Craft Sheet

Big Shot

Hot Glue Gun

Cheesecloth from my own stash